March, 2020 archive
Geeking Out 0
Ubuntu MATE with the Fluxbox window manager, xclock, GKrellM, and QMMP on a Zareason Mediabox. The wallpaper is from my collection.
The Snaring Economy 0
The Inky reports on the lack of protections–sick leave, worker’s comp, etc.–for those ensnared in the “gig” economy. Here’s a snippet (emphasis added):
(snip)
But even as their work is deemed “essential” in the face of government-mandated business closures, the delivery workers who power these apps are in a precarious position. There is no law that requires companies such as Instacart or GoPuff to keep their workers safe on the job. And if they get sick or hurt on the job, they do not qualify for sick pay or worker’s compensation. That’s because most app-based gig workers are classified — or misclassified, depending on whom you ask — as independent contractors, who aren’t afforded the same legal protections as employees.
I was an independent contractor for several years, designing and delivering training for several clients. I paid quarterly estimated income tax installments and my own health insurance premiums.
Delivering pizza for a pittance (plus tips) because it’s the only work you can find is not the same thing.
Metamorphosis 0
Juanita Jean takes the Liberty (University) to explain.
Viral Vigilantes 0
Civilization is a thin veneer indeed.
The Epidemiologist’s Apologist 0
A conservative right-wing* law professor tried his hand at sciencing and failed miserably.
In related news, The Roanoke Times’s Dan Casey, who is decidedly not an apologist for the Epidemiologist-in-Chief, responds to those who complain that his coverage of Donald Trump has been–er–less than even-handed.
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*He’s with the Hoover Institute.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
A polite society is a clean society.
Aside:
I always unloaded guns before disassembling and cleaning them. I guess I’m old school.
All the News that Fits 0
Sam unspins a Fox business segment.
QOTD 0
Bronson Pinchot, as George Burton:
We, um, sociopaths, we would do anything, lie, manipulate, anything, to get what we want.
A Tune for the Times 0
Via my brother in Virginia’s Northern Neck.
The Big Shill 0
Mike Littwin notes that Donald Trump wants the governors–particularly Democratic governors–of states fighting coronavirus to “do us a favor.” An excerpt:
And here’s the kicker, the so-Trump-like kicker, the kicker that only Trump would proudly admit to: Trump said his problem with Inslee and Whitmer was that they weren’t showing him — and, to his credit, he actually included his team — proper appreciation.
A Neo No-No 0
At the Bangor Daily News, Mark Anderson suggests the rapid spread of coronavirus has been exacerbated by our embrace of Neoliberal economic theory. A snippet (emphasis added); follow the link for the rest:
Aside:
Neoliberals and conservatives distrust expertise for a very simple reason. The facts lean left.
The True Believers 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., marvels at the Trumpettes’ loyalty to their idol.
